Built in 1986, the Class C apartment complex contains 100,080 square feet in multiple buildings on 13.1 acres along the north side of Raleigh-LaGrange Road between Bartlett and Sycamore View roads.

The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $6.1 million.

In conjunction with the purchase, RCP Meadows filed a $7.2 million multifamily deed of trust, assignment of leases and rents, security agreement and fixture filing through Beech Street Capital LLC. Jonathan A. Rosen signed the deed as president of RCP General.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

NCRM Renovations to Debut in April

The first major renovation of the National Civil Rights Museum since its opening in 1991 will debut on April 4 and 5, the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The $27 million renovation was to debut in March, but museum officials confirmed they shifted the opening to April, which, along with the Martin Luther King Day national holiday in January commemorating King’s birth, is usually when the museum draws large crowds.

The museum is at what was once the Lorraine Motel, the site of King’s assassination. The renovation includes technology upgrades and new exhibits.

During the Monday, Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Day observances at the museum, leaders will show renderings of what the finished and upgraded museum will look like.

The museum will also offer a listen to a rare 1960 recording of King talking about the strategy of non-violent resistance and social change. The recording was donated to the museum in 2012 after it was bought by illusionist David Copperfield.

– Bill Dries

Shelby County Pension Fund Hits Another High

The value of the pension fund that pays benefits to Shelby County retirees hit a major high in November – reaching a value not since in at least a decade.

The fund’s value in November, according to the latest figures, climbed to a little more than $1.08 billion, up from $1.07 billion in October.

Stock market gains are part of the reason. The domestic equity component of the county’s portfolio was up 31.9 percent year to date in November.

– Andy Meek

Southland Park Expanding Casino Operations

Southland Park in West Memphis is starting work on a $37 million expansion that will give the greyhound track an expanded casino-style gambling area and a new exterior appearance.

Southland President and General Manager Troy Keeping said Friday that the track is in the final stage of negotiating with a branded restaurant and sports bar that will also open at the facility. The name will be announced later.

The expansion will add 41,000 square feet to make room for 500 new gaming machines, which will give the facility a capacity for nearly 2,000 games.

Keeping says that if construction goes according to schedule, the expanded area will open by the end of 2014.

– The Associated Press

University of Memphis Names New Defensive Line Coach

Ricky Hunley, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee and former NFL player, has been named defensive line coach for the University of Memphis football team.

Hunley most recently spent two years working as a lead coach and instructor for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. In 2011, he served as an assistant coach with the Oakland Raiders.

Other collegiate coaching stops include Florida (linebackers) and Missouri (linebackers and defensive line).

Hunley played in two Super Bowls and from 1990-92 served as executive vice president of the NFL Players Association. A two-time All-American linebacker at Arizona, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

– Don Wade

Indoor Sports Facility Opening in July

The development will include a 50,000-square-foot climate-controlled indoor sports facility, which will have a turf soccer field, and three separate areas for all levels of sports programs. The site also has two outparcels dedicated for office and medical development.

The sports facility is expected to be fully operational by July.

– Andy Meek

Diamond-Roberts Merger Announces New Name

The newly merged Diamond Cos. and Roberts Truck Center dealerships have settled on a new name and logo.

The new company will be called Summit Holdings and will do business as Summit Truck Group, Summit Bus and Summit Lease & Rental. The new Summit logo uses orange and grey lettering to represent the merger of the two family businesses.

Diamond, a holding company for International Truck and IC Bus dealerships in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee, merged Jan. 1 with Roberts Truck Center LLC, a holding company for truck and bus dealerships in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

The new enterprise will remain a privately held company. Key principals from each firm have remained in their leadership positions, and corporate functions of the new entity will be directed from several locations.

– Amos Maki

Dismissal Request Filed in Schools Lawsuit

All sides in the federal lawsuit over the reformation of public education in Shelby County have filed a motion in the Western District of Tennessee to dismiss the lawsuit.

The Jan. 14 filing is the next to last step in ending the lawsuit that began in February 2011 as a lawsuit by the Shelby County Board of Education over the plan to merge the county’s two public school districts.

From there, it became a series of counterclaims, including a move by the Shelby County Commission to contest the creation of the six suburban school districts.

The commission and suburban governments, including their schools boards, and the Shelby County Schools boards approved a set of six settlement agreements in December on the suburban school systems.

The agreements cover the school buildings in the suburban towns and cities, payments to Shelby County Schools to cover the retirement benefits of teachers, and open-enrollment agreements. The agreements also include ending and dismissing the lawsuit, with the Shelby County Commission agreeing that it will not refile such a claim.

The motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice is awaiting the approval of U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays.

– Bill Dries

Medtronic Volunteer Hours Grow in 2013

Last December, Medtronic Philanthropy announced two three-year Health Access Grants totaling $500,000 to be awarded to the Church Health Center, Christ Community Health Services and Healthy Shelby. Medtronic Philanthropy also matches all employee charitable contributions up to $50,000 to qualified organizations.

– Don Wade

Decadent Avenue to Donate to Le Bonheur

A national e-commerce furniture retailer is partnering with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.

Decadent Avenue, which opened its first North American showroom in Memphis last month, will donate a portion of proceeds from their Feb. 7 and 8 grand opening weekend to Le Bonheur.